Baseline screening tools as indicators for symptom outcomes and health services utilization in a collaborative care model for depression in primary care: a practice-based observational study.

Objective: Within a practice-based collaborative care program for depression, we examined associations between positive baseline screens for comorbid mental and behavioral health problems, depression remission and utilization after 1 year.

Methods: This observational study of 1507 depressed adults examined baseline screens for hazardous drinking (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score ≥ 8), severe anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item score ≥ 15) and bipolar disorder [Mood Disorders Questionnaire (MDQ) positive screen]; 6-month depression remission; primary care, psychiatric, emergency department (ED) and inpatient visits 1 year postbaseline; and multiple covariates. Analyses included logistic and zero-inflated negative binomial regression.

Discovery of novel non-carboxylic acid 5-amino-4-cyanopyrazole derivatives as potent and highly selective LPA1R antagonists.

High throughput screening (HTS) of our chemical library identified 3-alkylamino-2-aryl-5H-imidazo[1,2,b]pyrazol-7-carbonitrile 1 as a potent antagonist of the LPA1 receptor (LPA1R). Further evaluation of this class of compounds indicated that LPA1R antagonist activity originated from the degradation of the parent molecule in DMSO during the assay conditions. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of the degradation products and their LPA1R antagonist activity.

Spatio-temporal variation in the incubation duration and sex ratio of hawksbill hatchlings: implication for future management.

Climate change poses a unique threat to species with temperature dependent sex determination (TSD), such as marine turtles, where increases in temperature can result in extreme sex ratio biases. Knowledge of the primary sex ratio of populations with TSD is key for providing a baseline to inform management strategies and to accurately predict how future climate changes may affect turtle populations. However, there is a lack of robust data on offspring sex ratio at appropriate temporal and spatial scales to inform management decisions.

Catalytic functionalization of methane and light alkanes in supercritical carbon dioxide.

The development of catalytic methods for the effective functionalization of methane yet remains a challenge. The best system known to date is the so-called Catalytica Process based on the use of platinum catalysts to convert methane into methyl bisulfate with a TOF rate of 10(-3) s. In this contribution, we report a series of silver complexes containing perfluorinated tris(indazolyl)borate ligands that catalyze the functionalization of methane into ethyl propionate upon reaction with ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) by using supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) as the reaction medium.

Psychiatric morbidity and predisposing factors in a primary care population in Madrid.

Objectives: The aim of this article is to estimate the prevalence of mental disorders in patients in primary care centers in an urban area of Madrid and to study possible associated risk factors.

Methods: Cross-sectional month prevalence was evaluated in two phases in an urban area of Madrid. The sample for the first phase included 635 individuals (aged 18-65 years), and the second phase included 320 individuals.

[Gene geography of Chile: regional distribution of American, European and African genetic contributions].

Background: The geographical distribution of genes plays a key role in genetic epidemiology. The Chilean population has three major stem groups (Native American, European and African).

Aim: To estimate the regional rate of American, European and African admixture of the Chilean population.

The helminth community of the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus from the Erro River valley, Navarre, Spain.

The helminth fauna of the wood mouse, Apodemus sylvaticus, in the Erro River valley (Navarre, Spain) was investigated from a total of 150 mice between February 2001 and July 2002. An overall prevalence of 90.7% was recorded and up to 14 helminth species identified.

Screening of protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions using microarrays: applications in biomedicine.

In this report, we focus on two different array-based technologies that enable large-scale screening of protein interactions. First, protein arrays focus on the identification of protein-protein interactions (PPIs). Second, DNA arrays have also evolved to explore the identification of protein-DNA interactions (PDIs), offering novel tools to control key biological processes.

Reconstituted human upper airway epithelium as 3-d in vitro model for nasal polyposis.

Background: Primary human airway epithelial cells cultured in an air-liquid interface (ALI) develop a well-differentiated epithelium. However, neither characterization of mucociliar differentiation overtime nor the inflammatory function of reconstituted nasal polyp (NP) epithelia have been described.

Objectives: 1st) To develop and characterize the mucociliar differentiation overtime of human epithelial cells of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in ALI culture system; 2nd) To corroborate that 3D in vitro model of NP reconstituted epithelium maintains, compared to control nasal mucosa (NM), an inflammatory function.

Melanocytes and melanin represent a first line of innate immunity against Candida albicans.

Melanocytes are dendritic cells located in the skin and mucosae that synthesize melanin. Some infections induce hypo- or hyperpigmentation, which is associated with the activation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), especially TLR4. Candida albicans is an opportunist pathogen that can switch between blastoconidia and hyphae forms; the latter is associated with invasion.

Diabetic kidney disease: from physiology to therapeutics.

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) defines the functional, structural and clinical abnormalities of the kidneys that are caused by diabetes. This complication has become the single most frequent cause of end-stage renal disease. The pathophysiology of DKD comprises the interaction of both genetic and environmental determinants that trigger a complex network of pathophysiological events, which leads to the damage of the glomerular filtration barrier, a highly specialized structure formed by the fenestrated endothelium, the glomerular basement membrane and the epithelial podocytes, that permits a highly selective ultrafiltration of the blood plasma.

Satellite tracking of sympatric marine megafauna can inform the biological basis for species co-management.

Context: Systematic conservation planning is increasingly used to identify priority areas for protection in marine systems. However, ecosystem-based approaches typically use density estimates as surrogates for animal presence and spatial modeling to identify areas for protection and may not take into account daily or seasonal movements of animals. Additionally, sympatric and inter-related species are often managed separately, which may not be cost-effective.

Immunogenicity of a 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) and impact on carriage in Venezuelan children at risk of invasive pneumococcal diseases.

Background And Aims: We evaluated the immunogenicity of the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7), and its impact on pneumococcal carriage in Venezuelan children at high risk for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD).

Methods: 82 children (age 2-59 months) with sickle cell anemia (n=22), chronic heart disease (n=19), HIV infection (n=12), immune-suppressive therapy (n=11) and other IPD-predisposing conditions (n=18) were vaccinated with PCV7 according to CDC-recommended age-related immunization schedules. Blood samples were taken to determine the concentration of IgG antibody, and nasopharyngeal swabs were obtained to isolate Streptococcus pneumoniae, before the first vaccine dose and 1 month after completion of the vaccination schedule.

Approach to coronary bifurcation lesions using the everolimus-eluting stent: comparison between a simple strategy and a complex strategy with T-stenting.

Introduction And Objectives: Coronary bifurcation lesions can be approached using a simple or a complex strategy. In clinical trials with first-generation drug-eluting stents, the complex strategy was not superior to the simple approach. However, to date, the best strategy when using second-generation drug-eluting stents has not been defined.

[Antifungal activity of melanin in clinical isolates of Candida spp].

Background: Melanocytes are cells located in epidermis and mucous membranes that synthesize melanin and cytokines. It is known that melanin has antimicrobial activity and that melanocytes are melanized in presence of microbial molecules.

Objective: To study the antifungal activity of melanin on Candida spp.

Maternal exposure to criteria air pollutants and congenital heart defects in offspring: results from the national birth defects prevention study.

Background: Epidemiologic literature suggests that exposure to air pollutants is associated with fetal development.

Objectives: We investigated maternal exposures to air pollutants during weeks 2-8 of pregnancy and their associations with congenital heart defects.

Methods: Mothers from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a nine-state case-control study, were assigned 1-week and 7-week averages of daily maximum concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide and 24-hr measurements of fine and coarse particulate matter using the closest air monitor within 50 km to their residence during early pregnancy.

Syntheses of a novel fluorinated trisphosphinoborate ligand and its copper and silver complexes. Catalytic activity toward nitrene transfer reactions.

A novel fluorinated ligand, the anionic PhB(CH2P(p-CF3C6H4)2)3 (PhBP3 (p-CF3Ph)), has been synthesized and characterized, as well as its corresponding thallium, copper, and silver derivatives. The presence of fluorine atoms in the ligand structure induced the desired effect of enhancing electrophilic character at the metal center, without promoting substantial changes in the ligand skeleton compared with the parent ligand PhB(CH2PPh2)3(-) (PhBP3). Olefin aziridination and C-H amidation reactions have been induced with those complexes as catalyst precursors.

[Susceptibility to azithromycin and other antibiotics in recent isolates of Salmonella, Shigella and Yersinia].

Introduction: Azithromycin represents an alternative option to treat bacterial diarrhea when the antibiotic therapy is indicated. Little is known regarding the susceptibility to azithromycin in enteropathogens in Spain.

Methods: The MICs of azithromycin were determined by E-test against Salmonella non-typhi (SNT), Shigella and Yersinia isolates collected over the last three years (2010-2012).

Identification of a characteristic copy number alteration profile by high-resolution single nucleotide polymorphism arrays associated with metastatic sporadic colorectal cancer.

Background: Metastatic dissemination is the most frequent cause of death in patients with sporadic colorectal cancer (sCRC). It is believed that the metastatic process is related at least in part to a specific background of genetic alterations accumulated in cells from primary tumors, and the ability to detect such alterations is critical for the identification of patients with sCRC who are at risk of developing metastases.

Methods: The authors used high-resolution, 500-K single nucleotide polymorphism arrays to identify copy number alteration profiles present at diagnosis in primary tumors from patients with metastatic (n = 23) versus nonmetastatic (n = 26) sCRC.

Skin and proximity effects in the conductors of split gradient coils for a hybrid Linac-MRI scanner.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), rapidly changing gradient fields are applied to encode the magnetic resonance signal with spatial position; however eddy currents are induced in the surrounding conducting structures depending on the geometry of the conductor and the excitation waveform. These alternating fields change the spatial profile of the current density within the coil track with the applied frequencies of the input waveform and by their proximity to other conductors. In this paper, the impact of the conductor width and the excited frequency over the parameters that characterise the performance of split transverse and longitudinal gradient coils are studied.

Fluticasone furoate inhibits cytokine secretion from nasal epithelial cells and reduces eosinophil survival in an in vitro model of eosinophilic inflammation.

Background: Fluticasone furoate (FF) is an intranasal corticosteroid indicated for the treatment of allergic rhinitis (AR). However, the anti-inflammatory effects of FF in the nasal mucosa have yet to be investigated thoroughly. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of FF on eosinophil survival and cytokine secretion from nasal mucosa epithelial cells.

The pain frequency-severity-duration scale as a measure of pain: preliminary validation in a pediatric chronic pain sample.

Typically, pain is measured by intensity and sensory characteristics. Although intensity is one of the most common dimensions of pain assessment, it has been suggested that measuring pain intensity in isolation is only capturing part of the pain experience and may not lead to an accurate measurement of how pain impacts a child's daily functioning. The current study aimed to develop a measure that would capture pain intensity along with frequency and duration in a clinical sample of youth diagnosed with chronic pain.

Self-mixing sensing system based on uncooled vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser array: linking multichannel operation and enhanced performance.

We compare the performance of a self-mixing (SM) sensing system based on an uncooled monolithic array of 24×1 vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) in two modes of operation: single active channel and the concurrent multichannel operation. We find that the signal-to-noise ratio of individual SM sensors in a VCSEL array is markedly improved by multichannel operation, as a consequence of the increased operational temperature of the sensors. The performance improvement can be further increased by manufacturing VCSEL arrays with smaller pitch.